Our eyes can have a big impact on how old or young we look. Droopy eyelids, tear troughs and crows feet can age our appearance dramatically. By looking after your eyes and your general health, you can prevent tired and wrinkled eyes. Various treatments and cosmetic tricks can meanwhile correct or conceal signs of ageing around the eyes. This post delves more into some of the different ways in which you can maintain youthful eyes.
Get your beauty sleep
One of the most common causes of dark circles under the eyes is lack of sleep. You could also experience dry eyes and puffiness around the eyes if you’re not getting enough sleep each night.
Why does this happen? When we are tired, blood circulation in the eye area tends to slow. This results in blood vessels swelling as blood pools around the eyes.
A good night’s sleep allows toxins and excess fluids to be flushed out of the body, helping to reduce eye bags and bloodshot eyes. Regularly getting this sleep can prevent dark circles and puffiness turning into permanent eye bags (aka tear troughs). If you can’t always get 7 hours every night, make sure that you’re finding time to regularly catch up.
Stay hydrated
Another common cause of dark circles under the eyes is dehydration. When you’re not getting enough water, blood circulation similarly slows down causing blood to pool in places such as the eyes.
Drinking lots of fluids throughout the day could help you to maintain a rosier complexion and could eliminate dark circles under the eyes. Consider whether you’re drinking enough water.
Remember that drinks like alcohol and caffeine can cause you to become more dehydrated. Avoid drinking too many coffees per day and take regular breaks from drinking alcohol to prevent constant dehydration from causing permanent wrinkles around the eyes.
Explore eye serums
There are eye serums on the market that can help to reduce darkness and puffiness around the eyes. These serums work by hydrating the blood vessels in the eyes and reducing inflammation.
You’ll notice that many of these products contain caffeine. While drinking lots of caffeine can dehydrate the body and cause eye bags, topical application of caffeine under the eyes can have the opposite effect by restricting blood vessels around the eyes.
Some eye serums also contain retinol which may help to physically reduce wrinkles by restoring collagen production in the skin. If you already have fine wrinkles around the eyes, these could be worth trying to combat these wrinkles.
Protect your eyes from the sun
There are many reasons to protect your eyes from the sun. Too much sun exposure can firstly increase the risk of developing problems like cataracts. On top of this, it can cause excessive squinting – which can encourage crow’s feet (wrinkles around the outer corners of the eyes) to form.
Wearing shades is the simplest way to protect the eyes. Make sure that these have a strong enough tint that you don’t have to squint.
Wear your prescription lenses
If you need prescription lenses, make sure that you’re actually wearing them. Constantly squinting and straining your eyes because you cannot see could be ageing them – excessive squinting can cause crow’s feet, while tiredness from eye strain could lead to droopy eyelids.
Start wearing your glasses or consider getting contact lenses if you find these more convenient. Of course, there are also options like laser eye treatment too.
Limit screen time
Staring at a bright screen all day can lead to dry eyes and eye strain. This could age your eyes in the long run by increasing the risk of droopy eyes and wrinkles. Bright screens include computers, smartphones, tablets and TVs.
Taking regular breaks from bright screens can give our eyes a rest. Many people recommend the 20/20/20 rule, which involves taking a break for 20 seconds every 20 minutes to look at something 20 feet away.
Making a conscious effort to blink more can also reduce eye strain from bright screens. Studies show that we blink less when staring at a screen, which causes our eyes to get dryer. By blinking you can help to lubricate your eyes.
Solutions light blue light blocking glasses can also help reduce eye strain while looking at bright screens. These could be useful for those who are working at a computer all day.
Quit smoking
Smoking can also contribute to eye wrinkles. While lip wrinkles are the most common form of wrinkles caused by smoking, many smokers also have an increased risk of developing wrinkles around the eyes from constant exposure to smoke.
Studies also show that smoking reduces the amount of blood and oxygen that reach the skin and eyes. This increases the risk of wrinkles and eye disease, while also giving skin a pale complexion.
Quitting smoking could prevent all of this, helping you to maintain more youthful eyes. This could be something to consider if you needed another reason to quit smoking.
Consider cosmetic treatments
If you already have wrinkles around the eyes, it could still be possible to get rid of them by exploring cosmetic procedures. This could help to restore a youthful look to your eyes.
Many types of surgery exist that can help to reduce wrinkles including a droopy eyelid lift or eye bag removal. These surgeries involve tightening or removing excess skin to get rid of wrinkles and sagging around the eyes.
Dermal fillers and botox injections are meanwhile a less invasive option. Fillers can help to fill out sunken eyes, while botox can help remove wrinkles such as crow’s feet. These options are cheaper than surgery, but have only temporary results.
Use eye make-up correctly
It’s also possible to restore youthfulness to eyes using make-up. For example, foundation and concealer can hide dark circles and eye bags.
A mistake many people make is not using eyeshadow and eyeliner correctly. Heavy dark eyeshadow and eyeliner on more aged eyes may only highlight wrinkles and give your eyes a more sunken look. If you’ve got droopy eyes and you want to make them more youthful, it’s better to use a small touch of nude eyeliner to help your eyes pop.
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